What Charles Leclerc’s onboard camera showed during US Grand Prix win that ‘no one expected’

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Charles Leclerc put in a commanding performance when he took his fourth victory of the season at the United States Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver overtook polesitter Lando Norris and Max Verstappen after the pair tangled at the first corner and built a convincing gap from the Dutchman.

Charles Leclerc’s lap times were good enough in clean air to pull away from Verstappen in the early stages of the race, enabling Ferrari to put him on a longer strategy than planned.

It also played into the hands of Sainz, who managed to overcut Verstappen and take second away in the second half of the race.

This was Leclerc’s second win in four races after being victorious in Monza and coming close at the Azerbaijan GP. Discussing his win on the F1 Nation podcast, commentator Alex Jacques spotted something from his onboard that ‘nobody expected’ in the build-up to the Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc ‘at ease’ with smooth steering inputs on the way to US GP victory

Ferrari has worked a lot on their car in the last few races to improve their race pace, with them cautious going into the Austin weekend.

Leclerc was worried about encountering traffic during the race, which is why he told the team to ensure Sainz did not undercut him while leading.

Jacques highlighted one thing he noticed Leclerc was doing through his onboard while commentating on F1 TV.

“No one expected them to hit the front immediately, how could you? But no one expected them to sail away. And they did, he was relaxed,” said Jacques.

“When you went on board and you saw the steering inputs, that was Charles Leclerc at ease.”

Charles Leclerc closes in on Lando Norris in Drivers’ Championship

With his win at Austin, it means Leclerc moves to within 22 points of Norris for second in the Drivers’ Championship and stands a good chance of overtaking him in the final five races.

Ferrari has proven that it can consistently challenge for wins with their current car specification, while McLaren’s latest upgrades appear to have only added small areas of performance.

READ MORE: Frederic Vasseur told the ‘bigger picture’ decision Ferrari must make to catch McLaren

This also bodes well for Ferrari’s Constructors’ title ambitions, as they are now within 50 points of leader McLaren.

There is still all to play for in the final five Grands Prix and the strengths of each car will make a big difference at the circuits.